Filling machine



July 11, 1944. R. J. STEWART r-:rAL

FILLINGMACHINE Original Filed Dec. 17, 1936 l0 She'etS-Sheet 1 lllllllPlHHHUl II nvm,

July l1, 1944- R. J. STEWART ErAL 2,353,523

FILLING MACHINE i Original Filed Dec. 17, 1936 10 Sheets-Sheet- 2 me/whole RM JJM Har/)f J fever July 11, 1944. R, J. STEWART ETAL '2,353,523

FILLING MACHINE Original` Filed Dec. 17. 1956 10 Sheets-Sheet 3 July 11, 1944.

R. J. STEWART E'I'ALV FILLING MACHINE Original Filed Dec. 17, 1936 l0 Sheets-Sheet 4 July 1l, 1944. R. J. STEWART ETAL FILLING MACHINE 10 Sheets-Sheet 5 Original Filed Dec. 17, 1936 17, 1956 l0 Sheets-Sheet 6 July 11, 1944. R. J. STEWART ETAL FILLING MACHINE Original Filed Deo.

July 1l, 1944.

R. J. STEWART ET AL FILLING MACHINE Original Filed Dec. 17, 1936 10 Sheets-Sheet '7 July ll, 1944. R. J. STEWART ETAL FILLING MACHINE Original Filed Dec. 17, 1936 vl0 Sheets-Sheet 8 July 11, 1944. R. J. STEWART ETAL FILLING MACHINE Original Filed Deo. 17, 1936 10 Sheets-Sheet 9 mml l gmc/rdm Wam/y J fever mi k/d, W

July 1l, 1944. R. J. STEWART Erm.

FILLING MACHINE Original Filed Dec. 17, 1936 l0 Sheets-Sheet 10 Patented July l1, 1944 FILLING MACHINE Robert J. Stewart and Harry J. Bever, Baltimore, Md., assignors to Crown Cork & Seal Company, Inc., Baltimore, Md., a corporation of New York Original application December 17, 1936, Serial No. 116,426. Divided and this application May 6. 1940, Serial No. 333,700

14 Claims.

The present invention relates to lling machines. This application is a division of our application ior Filling machine, Serial No. 116,426, led December 17, 1936, issued December 17, 1940, Patent No. 2,225,022.

The principal object of the invention is to provide a iilling machine of moderate capacity, but which will have a degree of eiilciency comparable to larger and more expensive machines.

In all lling machines, it is desirable that the bottles or other containers be so moved between the various mechanisms, for example, the syruping mechanism, lling mechanism and crowning mechanism, that they will follow the shortest path of travel, but with the bottles always so moving that as they pass from one mechanism to another, their linear speed will not be suddenly varied nor their direction oi movement sharply changed. Any sudden change oi speed or any quick stopping or starting, or any sharp change of direction, may result in foaming of liquid contents oi the containers. Also, such 'changes in speed cause sudden contact of one bottle with another or permit moving elements of the machine to sharply contact with the bottles, resulting in chipping and breakage.

Filling machines of the most efilcient design are so arranged that incoming empty bottles will be received at one side of a stationary table and outgoing lled and crowned bottles will leave the table at the opposite side. The syruping and crowning mechanisms are carried on the stationary table and the lling mechanism is in the form of a rotating table positioned adjacent the rear edge of the stationary table. The incoming botf tles initially follow a straight path and then move about a curvilinear path of such form that the direction of travel of the bottles when moving from the stationary table to the filling table will be substantially the reverse of 'the path they folloWed when originally received upon the-stationary table. Also, bottles leaving the lling table will have their movementl again substantially reversed in passing about a curvilinear path after returning to the stationary table from the lling mechanism. Subsequently, they move along a straight outgoing path to leave the stationary table and machine. In large capacity machines, the syruping and crowning mechanisms are rotary and their heads operate above portions of the curvilinear paths and serve to move bottles through a portion of such paths.

In filling machines of large capacity and selling at a relatively high price, it is practicable to include a relatively large number of guiding el'ements which will serve to move the bottles smoothly and in the path of optimum emclency described above. However, since smaller nlling machines must sel1 at a correspondingly lower price, it has not heretofore been possible to provide in such machines all of the guiding elements used in the larger machines, since the only substantial diierence in the cost of manufacture would then be due only to a reduction in the number of syruping, lling and crowning heads, machines comparable to that of the present invention being provided with but one syruping head, one crowning head, and a correspondingly reduced number of filling heads.

Heretofore, in iilling machines of moderate price and capacity, endeavors have been made to reduce manufacturing costs by centralizing the position of the single syruping head and the single crowning head by locating them at a point where the curvilinear paths of the bottles approach each other, and to have the bottles stopped beneath these heads. This has necessitated that the relatively heavy dials and spiders which move and guide the bottles through these -paths be intermittently stopped to position the bottles seriatim beneath the syruping and crowning head, respectively. The result is that a number of larger elements of the machine are operated witha stop and start movement which obviously is not a desirable mechanical arrangement. Furthermore, any endeavor to centralizev the syruping and crowning heads requires that portions of the curvilinear paths be modified from the most desirable form, so as to bring them more closely adjacent.

An importantobject of the present invention is to provide a iilling machine of low cost wherein the bottles are moved through a path of the most eicient form, and in which the bottles are not stopped while moving through any portion of the curvilinear path, and none of the heavy mechanical elements of the machine operate with a stop and start motion.

In accordance with this object, in the preferred form of the machine of this invention, the bottles move along a path closely approximating that followed in larger and more expensive machines and, as is the case in the most eilicient larger machines, the bottles, at the time of movement from the stationary table to the rotating filling table, and vice versa, will follow courses so arranged that the direction of movement will not be sharply changed. Also, the syruping head and crowning head are positioned above the straight portions of the path of the bottles, the

impose no intermittent loads upon the machine.

Another important object of the invention is the provision of means to intermittently present bottles to a. head which will perform an operation on thebottle, andwhich means will hold the bottle momentarily stationary beneath such a head and then move the bottle from beneath the head, all without undue jarring of the bottle.

In the present machine, theconstruction referred to in the above object, as used in connection with a syruping head, is as follows: The syruping head is positioned above an endless straight line conveyor which moves incoming bottles to the machine. This conveyor is continuously moved, but a bottle positioning mechanism, controlled by a continuously moving devicel holds each bottle momentarily stationary beneath the syruping head while the endless conveyor lcontinues to move beneath the bottle. After syruping, the bottle is moved from beneath the syruping head by the continuously moving conveyor and by theaction of the positioning mechanism. It is found that this mechanism is entirely practicable for use with a syruping headvbecause the syruping operation does not impose any great downward pressureupon a bottle, such as would exert a drag upon the continuously moving con- VeyOl'.

Another object of the invention is to provide means to stop operation of a iilling machine in the event that a bottle is broken during passage therethrough.

With reference to the machine of the present application, the stopping means is used in `connection with the mechanism for positioning bottles beneath the crowning head. Because .of aws in their glass, bottles are occasionally bro-f ken during the operation of any crowning mechanism and if large sections of a broken bottle remain beneath the crowning head, the succeeding bottle moved beneath the head by the crowner positioning means may be upset upon coming into contact with such large fragments. To overcome this diiliculty, the crowner positioning means is provided with means to cause operation of the entire machine to be stopped when its forwarding movement of a, bottle is impeded, as would be the case when a bottle comes into contact with a large fragment of a broken bottle.

Another object of the invention is to provide a syruping mechanism which is extremely simple in construction and operation, and readily adjustable for operation upon containers of different heights. 1

Another important object of the invention is to provide a filling machine in which all of the mechanisms are electrically controlled.

In most filling machines heretofore provided,

it has vbeen necessary that air pressure be used to control certain mechanisms of the machine. This has increased the cost of installation and operation, because of the fact that a source of compressed air has thus been required for operation of the apparatus.

Another object of the invention is to provide an` improved arrangement for causing an individual iilling head to be rendered inoperative in the event that no bottle is positioned beneath Voi' the machine.

vent the operation of the valve in other steps of.

the lling cycle. In still other machines, separate devices have been provided at each of the filling trips to successively prevent the operation of each of the trips to actuate the lling valve.

In the arrangement embodied in our machine, the trips which cooperate with the iilling head valve to successively move the latter to the various steps of the iilling cycle are spaced about the filling table in the usual manner, but electrical means is provided to render the counter-pressure trip inoperative with respect to a filling head if no bottle is positioned beneath that head. Also, the counter-pressure trip, filling trip and filling valve are so designed with respect to each other that if the counterpressure trip is rendered inoperative and fails to actuate the valve to counter-pressure position, the valve will subsequently fail to make contact with, the nlling trip. It will be noted that by this construction, wherein-the counter-pressure trip is rendered inoperative, counter-pressure gas as well as lling water will be conserved.

Our mechanism to render a illling head inoperative when no bottle is positioned beneath the head is so designed that it will properly coact with each succeeding lling head to operate or fall to operate the latter. according to whether the head has a bottle presented thereto for nlling.

Another important object of the invention is to. provide iilling valve trips which are readily adjustable with regard to the periphery of the illing table andwhich will also eliminate wear between the filling trips and the valve arms of the iling heads, respectively,

Another object of the invention is to provide iilling trips which will swing from the path of a iilling head valve -arm if the valve should be seized against movement.

Frequent breakageof lling head valve arms and filling trips has resulted from the fact that a nlling head valve will occasionally become locked on its seat. When a valve in this condition comes in contact with an immovable trip, breakage of one of the two elements occurs and it is therefore desirable to provide a trip which Awill swing from the path of a seized valve arm,

but which will ordinarily be maintained in tripping position to properly operate the valves.

Another object of the invention is to provide a crowning mechanism which is simple in construction and operation and which may be readily adjusted to operate upon containers of different heights.

Other objects and advantages of the invention will be apparent from the following specification and drawings, wherein:

Figure 1 is a plan view of the machine, portions being shown in horizontal section;

Y Figure 2 is a detail plan view of one of the filling trips of the machine;

Figure 3 is a transverse vertical sectional view taken on the line 3 3 of Figure 1; Y

Figure 4 is a transverse vertical sectional view taken on the line t-d of Figure 1;

Figure 5 is a detail front elevation of the cap 2,353,523 stop mechanism provided on the crowning head:

Figure 6 is a vertical sectional view taken on the line 6--8 of Figure 5;

Figure '1 is a plan view of the driving mechanism of the machine, the top plate of the stationary table and the upper portion of the filling table being removed:

Figure 8 is a longitudinal vertical sectional view taken on the line 3 8 of Figure 1; Figure 9 is a transverse vertical sectional view showing the syruping mechanism and the counter-pressure and lling trips, the view being taken on the line 9-9 of Figure 1;

Figure 10 is a view of the container positioning means provided beneath the syruping mechanism, the view of the positioning means being in horizontal section and taken on the line IU-I 0 of Figure 13;

Fig. v11 is a fragmentary vertical sectional view taken on the line ||I| of Figure 10;

Figure 12 is a fragmentary vertical sectional view taken on the line |2|2 of Figure 10;

Flgure.1 3 is a longitudinal vertical sectional View taken on the line |3|3 of Figure 10;

Figure 14 is a vertical sectional view through the counter-pressure trip mechanism and showing the control means therefor; the view being taken substantially on the line I4|4 of Figure 9;

Figure 15 is a plan view oi the counter-pressure and filling trips;

Figure 16 is a plan view of the container positioning means'l'provided beneath the crowning mechanism;

Figure 17 is a detail vertical sectional view taken on the line |1-I1 of Figure 4 and showing the means associated with the crowner positioning means to stop the machine incase of a bottle being broken beneath the crowner; and

Figure 18 is a diagrammatic showing of the electric control circuits of the machine.

The machine of the present invention and its operation as an entirety may be described as follows:

A stationary table 30 is provided which encloses the drive mechanism of the machine and which has a rotating filling mechanism 3| positioned adjacent its rear edge. Upon the infeed side of the stationary table, the left-hand side in Figure 1, there is positioned a syruping mechanism 32, and a crowning mechanism 33 is positioned adjacent the outfeed side of the table. Bottles or other containers are moved into the machine upon an infeed straight line conveyor 34 and eachbottle is positioned or held stationary beneath the syrupng mechanism or syruper 32 by a syruper positioning device 35, the infeed conveyor 34 continuing its movement beneath the bottle during the syruping. After the bottle has been syruped, it is released by the positioning device 35 and resumes movement with the conveyor. being removed from the latter by a rotary infeed dial 36 which places each bottle upon one oi' the bottle supporting platforms 31 of the filling mechanism 3|. After the bottle has been filled, it is removed from the rotating filling mechanism by a rotary outfeed dial 38, its movement with this dial as well as with the infeed dial 36 being directed by a guide plate 39 positioned above the surface of the stationary table and having its edges formed to define a path of movement for the bottle. The bottles are removed from the outfeed dial 38 by a crowner positioning means 40 which moves each bottle beneath the crowning mechanism 33, the bottle remaining stationary in this position until it has been crowned.- whereupon the positioning means 40 moves it upon or toward a straight line outfeed conveyor Il which conducts the bottle from the machine.

The various mechanisms of -the machine and their operations are hereinafter described in detail.

Drive and gearing The driving mechanism for the present machine comprises a motor 50, l(Fig. 8) which drives a gear reduction unit 5I, both' of which are mounted upon the base 52 of the stationary table or housing 30. As shown in Figure 3, the drive to the unit 3| is accomplished through a'belt 53 moving between two opposed dish-shaped drums on the motor shaft and pressed toward each other by spring tension. The position of the motor 50 with respect to the unit 5| may be varied by a screw-shaft operated slide mechanism generally indicated by the numeral 54, operation of the latter mechanism causing the position of the belt with respect to the axis of the motor shaft to be varied in the well known manner so that the drive ratio will be changed. Figure 4 shows a hand-crank operated shaft 5|a aligned with the reduction unit, which shaft may be moved inwardly and clutched to a shaft of the unit to permit the mechanism of the machine to be turned by hand.

The housing 30 includes side, front and rear walls and is provided with a horizontally extending partition wall 56 intermediate its height in which are provided bearings for the various drive shafts. The upper portions of the shafts are journaled in bearings provided in the upper wall of the housing, which wall forms the working surface 51 of the stationary table or housing. As best shown in Figure 8, a vertical shaft extends upwards from the gear reduction unit 5|, this shaft being provided with a pinion 58 which meshes with a pinion 59 carried at the lower end of the crowner drive shaft 60. On its opposite side, the pinion 58 meshes with a large gear 6| xed to a vertical shaft 62 which is provided adjacent its upper end with a pinion 63 meshing with the ring gear 64 on the table of the filling mechanism 3|. 'Ihe shaft 62 is provided immediately above the large gear 6| with a pinion 68 meshing with a. larger pinion 69 on a stub-shaft 69a, pinion 69 driving pinions 10 and 1| arranged on each side thereof. The pinion 1li is fixed to a shaft 12 which carries the infeed dial 36 at its upper end and the pinion 1| is fixed to a shaft 13 on the upper end of which is mounted the outfeed dial 38.

The vertical shaft 62 has a beveled pinion 16 fixed thereto which meshes with a bevel pinion 11 on a horizontal and transversely extending shaft 13 which carries a sprocket 19. A chain 8| passes about the sprocket 19 and also about a smaller sprocket 82 on a horizontal and transverse shaft 83. As shown in Figure 9, shaft 83 has a cam 84 fixed thereto which actuates the syruping mechanism and also carries a cam 85 which controls the positioning means operating beneath the syruping mechanism.

As illustrated in Figure 4, the positioning means beneath the crowning mechanism is actuated through a gear 81 fixed to the crowner shaft 6U, gear 81 meshing with a gear 88 free on a'shaft 39 and driving the positioning means through a clutch 50 subsequently described.

Referring to Figure 1, the straight line conveyors 34 and 4| are driven from sprockets 93 and 94 xed to the horizontal shaft 18. A sprocket c hain 95 driven by sprocket 93 meshes with a sprocket on a horizontal shaft 96 which is provided at its inner end with a drive sprocket for the infeed conveyor element 34 while sprocket 34 drives a chain 99 extending about a sprocket on a -shaft |00, the latter shaft also carrying a sprocket which, through a chain |02, drives a sprocket |03 on a shaft |04 having a drive sprocket on its inner end engaging the outfeed conveyor belt or chain 4|.

It will be understood that in numerous instances, the outfeed conveyor 4| may be replaced by a straight-line conveyor driven by an apparatus to which the present filling machine delivers the bottles.

The syruping mechanism As best shown in Figure 9, the syruping mecha- .which engages the syruper cam 84, the roller ||4 being held in engagement with cam 84 by reason of the weight of the post I I. The upper portion of post is provided with rack teeth I6 on one face thereof and an arm ||1 is carried by the upper portion of the post opposite the teeth H6, the arm I1 being provided with a bore I8 which encircles the post, the arm being split at the bore and arranged to be tightly clamped upon the post by means of a transverse bolt H9. A gear is journaled in the arm ||1 to engage the rack teeth H5, rotation of the gear |20 when the bolt ||9 is loosened causing the arm to be moved 4upwardly or downwardly along the post.

'I'he arm |1 supports a small syruper tank |2|, which may receive syrup from a storage tank, not shown, through a pipe line |22. A flexible pipe line |23 extends from the lower portion of tank |2| to a syruping head |24 including a reciprocable syruping nozzle |25. The syruping head |24 is generally similar to that disclosed in the Filling head application of George J Huntley and Robert J. Stewart, Serial No. 5,720, filed February 15, 1935, being so constructed that downward movement of the syruping head will r cause the syruping nozzle |25 to be moved upwardly against the action of a spring |26 to shift a valve within the syruping head and permit syrup to flow from the nozzle |25 into the bottle. When the syruping head is lifted, the spring |26 will cause the nozzle |25 to be forced downwardly to the position shown in Figure 9, permitting syrup to flow through the line |23 .into a measuring chamber within the syruping head, all as described in the application referred to. l

In the operation of the syruping mechanism, at the moment that a bottle is positioned beneath the syruping nozzle |25, the rotation of cam 84 will permit the reciprocable post -to lower,

Bottle positioning for syruping mechanism Figures 9 to 13 illustrate in detail the mechanism for positioning bottles beneath the syruping` mechanism, which mechanism is generally indicated by the numeral and comprises a box-like housing |30 in which are journaled two star wheels |3| and |32, the star wheels being secured upon pins |33 (Figure 11) `iournaled at their upward ends in the upper wall of the housing |30 and having their lower ends preferably resting upon balls |34 for easy rotation.

Each star wheel is provided with five vanes forming five pockets and the housing |30 is intended to be so mounted with respect to the straight line `infeed-conveyor 34 that a vane projecting from the housing as shown in Figure 10.

\wi1l be in the path of bottles moving with the conveyor. The housing |30 includes a projecting base |35 having slots |38 therein through 'which extend bolts |31 threaded in the upper surface 51 of the work table. The slots |35 are arranged at such an angle that movement of the housing |30 with respect to the infeed conveyor 34 will always maintain the outwardly projecting vane of the star wheel |32 Iin such position that a bottle contacting against thesame as at A in Figure 10 will be in alignment with the vertical axis of the syruping nozzle |25.

Referring to Figure 9, the reciprocating post of the syruper mechanism has a cam block adjustably secured thereto at a point well above the upper surface 51 of the stationary table 30. 'I'he flat working face 4| of the cam block is of hardened steel and is arranged to contact with a roller |42 carried at the upper end of an arm |43 extending upwardly from a short shaft |44 journaled in the upper portion of the housing |30. Shaft |44 is provided with a downwardly extending and bifurcated arm |45 within the housing |30, the lower end of arm |45 being slotted as at |48 to engage a horizontally projecting pin |41 carried by a rod |48 slidably mounted in trunnions |49 projecting downwardly from the upper wall of the housing.

The rod |48V has a pair of pawls |50 pivotally connected thereto by pins |5|, the pawls being so spaced upon the rod that they may respectively cooperate with the star wheels |3| and |32 in a manner hereinafter described. It willbe noted that the pawls |50 each comprises a depending pawl portion |52 having upwardly extending side arms |53 formed integrally therewith and which engage the pins |5|, the upper end of each pawl portion being adapted to bear against the underside of rod |48 to limit counterclockwise swinging movement of the pawl on its pin I 5|.

A coil spring |54 extends from the left hand or outer end wall of the housing |30, and is connected to the arm |45 of shaft |44 to tend the same to the position shown in Figure 13.

By the arrangement described above. the coil spring |54 will normally draw the arm |45 of shaft |44 to the left and to the position shown in Figure 13, thereby holding rod |48 and its pawls |50 to the left. However, descent of the reciprocating post of the syruping mechanism will bring the `working face |4| of cam block |40 into contact with the roller |42 of arm |43, rotating the shaft |44 in a counter-clockwise direction (Figure 13) to move arm |45 and rod |48 to the right. On the right hand movement of rod |48 resulting from the descent of the syruping head 82Y and cam block |4|. the

pawls |50 will ride over the upper edges of the vanes designated |55 in Figure 10 and while the star wheels are held stationary by latches |68 described below. As soon as a bottle has been syruped, the cam block |40, moving upwardly with the syruping head, will release arm |43, permitting the spring |54 to draw rod |48 to the position shown in Figures and 13. In moving to this position, the pawls |50, unable to swing in a counter-clockwise direction, will contact with the right hand or rearward 4faces of the vanes designated |55, and since the latches |56 will then be momentarily released, the star wheels |3| and |32 will be turned a distance corresponding to the space between two adjacent vanes.

The star wheels |3| and |32 are alternately held stationary and free to rotate by means of a latching mechanism controlled by the cam 85 carried on shaft 83 and best shown in Figure 13 and in dotted lines in Figure 8. As is illustrated in Figure 8, a cam operated lever |60 pivotally mounted in a xed bracket |6| is provided with a roller |62 intermediate itsA length and adapted to contact with the cam 85. A second roller |63 journaled at the outer end of the lever is arranged to bear against or support a plate |64, the roller |63 directly contacting with a hardened steel member secured to the underside oi the plate |64. Plate |64 includes anl integral upstanding post |85 which is slidable in the bore of a sleeve |66 projecting downwardly from the lower wall of the housing |30. A spring |81 surrounds the sleeve |66 and has its lower end bearing against the upper surface oi. the plate |64 so that the latter will be tended downwardly and always held in contact with the roller |63.

The latches |56 are operatively connected to the plate |64, the lower ends of the latches being slotted as indicated at |68 to accommodate cross'- pins |69 secured in the plates and passing through the latches |56 to prevent turning of the same and to also limit movement o! the latches with respect to the plate. Relatively light springs |10 surround the lower portions of the latches |56, the lower ends of the springs bearing on the plate |64 and their upper vends bearing on washers |1| fixed to each latch intermediate its length. 'I'he springs Il 10 serve to hold the latches upwardly with respect to the plate, upward movement of each latch being further prevented by lock nuts |12 positioned at its extreme lower end and bearing against the underside of the plate.

Since the plate |64 and .the latches associated therewith are only retained in the housing by the contact of the cam roller |63 therewith, a bolt |13 is provided which extends downward from the lower wall of the housing and through an aperture in the plate, this bolt being .merely provided for the purpose of preventing the plate from falling away from the housing should the cam lever |60 be removed from the machine for adjustment or the like.

The operation of the latching mechanism described above is as follows: The latches |56 are normally held in the position shown in Figure 13 by contact of the roller |63 with plate |64 and because the cam 85 which controls the position of the cam |60 is of uniform diameter throughout the greater area of its peripheral surface as shown in Figure 8. During the time that the latches are held upwardly the star wheels will be held stationary so that the bottle at position A and beneath the syruping head may be insufllcient strength to retain the latches |56 in upward position when plate |64 moves down.

As the latches are dropped from the path of the vanes at |55, the rod |48 will move to the left with its pawls |50 bearing against the rear surface of the vanes |55, moving these vanes to the position indicated at |11 in Figure 10. The timing of cam 85 is such that as soon as the vanes have passed over the latches |56, the

latches will be permitted to rise, preventing the vanes from being moved past position |11.

Pivoted gravity latches are provided in the upper wall of the housing |30, the purpose of these latches being to prevent the star wheels from turning backwardly in a clockwise direction with reference to Figure l0 when they have passed these latches.

The lower and trailing of rearward edge of each vane of star wheels |3| and |32 is beveled as hxdicated at |15 and the left hand upper ends of the latches |56' are correspondingly beveled. By this arrangement, should a star wheel be moved rearwardly, that is,'turned clockwise with reference to Figure l0, before it moves past to latch |80,. it will be free to force its latch |66 downwardly and pass over the same, avoiding breakage of parts.

The operation of the syruper positioning mechanism described above is such that a bottle will always be held at position A by a. vane of star wheel |32 which projects outwardly and over the infeed conveyor 34. A second bottle will be held at position B by the outwardly projecting vane of star wheel |3|, and all of the succeeding bottles on the conveyor will be likewise held stationary behind the bottle at position B. When the syruping head descends to syrup the bottle at A, it will move the rod |48 to the right to bring its pawls |50 into position to tum the star wheels forwardly but rod |48 will remain in right hand position until the syruping head rises after the bottle has been syruped. At the moment when the syruping head rises, the latches |56 will move downwardly to release the star wheelsv 3| and |82 as the rod |48 moves back to the left by the action of the spring |54. The counter-clockwise rotation of the star wheels |3| and |32 (Figure l0), together with the movement of the conveyor 34, will cause the bottle at position A to be moved intoa pocket of the spider 36 and the bottle at position B will move to position A to be syruped, its place at position B being then occupied by the next bottle in the line on conveyor 34.

It will be understood that conveyor 34 is continuously moving but may move ireely beneath the stationary bottles, there being no drag imposed either on the conveyor or on the bottle being syruped at position A due to the fact that the syruping head does not impose a heavy downward pressure upon the bottle while syruping the same.

I1; will be noted that the working face of the cam block |40 is suiiiciently wide that any possible adjustment of the housing |30 will always leave the roller |42 beneath the path of movement of the block. The plate |84 is also suf-4 flciently wide to always be in contact with the roller |63, regardless of adjustment ofy the housi118. y

As is best shown in Figure 1. an upstanding guide member 8| is suitably supported on the working surface 51 of the table 30 adjacent the forward side of the infeed conveyor 34. The guide member |8| may be adjusted to various positions with respect to the infeed conveyor, and since the housing |30 is similarly adjustable, the two may be so spaced that they will accommodate bottles of various sizes between them, housing |30 being movable -on a diagonal line in the manner described above so that the bottle which will be held at A by star wheel |32 will lalways be in axial alignment with the syruping head. A gate member |82 of the construction disclosed in the patent. of Wiltie I. Gladfelter, 2,013,144, September 3, 1935, Bottle handling machine and control therefor is positioned between guide members |8| and 39, member |82 being arranged to swing outwardly to actuate a switch hereinafter described to stop the machine should bottles become jammed adjacent the infeed dial 36.

Bottles moving with the infeed spider 36 will move upon the upper surface 51 of the work table, and in the path defined by the guide plate 39, to be positioned upon the bottle supporting platforms 31 of the filling table 3|. The infeed spider 36 and also the outfeed spider 38 are removably mounted upon the shafts 12 and 13, respectively, so that spiders having pockets of other sizes may be used for bottles of different sizes or conformations than those shown in the drawings.

The filling table 3| is rotated by the gearing which has already been described and includes a filling reservoir |85 to which are'connected lling heads |86 provided with rotating disk valves |81 including valve arms |88. The reservoir, filling valves and filling valve trip arms are substantially the same type as disclosed in Patent No.. 2,145,765 issued to George J. Huntley and Robert J. Stewart for Filling machine on January 31, 1939, and the entire filling table construction is substantially as disclosed in that patent.

As is the case in the structure of -the patent issued to George J. Huntley and Robert J.. Stewart referred to above, when a bottle is positioned upon a bottle supporting platform 31 and beneath the corresponding filling head |86, the rotation of the filling table in a clockwise direction (Figure 1) will cause the trip arm |88 of that filling head to successively contact with a counter pressure trip, a filling trip and a snifting trip. The counter pressure trip and the filling trip are supported from the post |90 shown in the upper left hand portion of Figure 1 and the snifting trip is supported on the post |9| in the upper right hand portion of the same figure. The counter pressure and shifting trips are best illustrated in their relation to each other in Figures 9, 14 and 15. The bottle supporting platforms 31 are carried by reciprocable plungers |92 mounted in the lling table 3|, the plungers being tended upwardly by coil springs, not shown, and being provided with rollers |93 (Figure 3l which, during the portion of their traveling movement when they are adjacent the stationary table 30 are in contact with a cam track |94 fixed to the base of the machine. The cam track |94 is of such configuration that almost immediately after a bottle has been snifted, the platform 81 carrying that bottle will be moved downwardly to a position level with the upper surface' 51 of escasas the work table so that the filled bottle may be removed by the outfeed spider 36 and a syruped bottle positioned on the platform by the infeed spider 38, the platform 31 then being permitted to rise again.

Counterpre'ssure trip control mechanism When a bottle is positioned upon a bottle supporting platform 31, and the platform is subsequently permitted to move upwardly from the position shown in dotted lines at C in Figure 14 by reason of the upward inclination of the cam track |94, and by the action of its coil spring, the upward movement of the platform will be limited to the position indicated at C in Figures 9 and 14 because of the fact that the mouth of the bottle will come into contact with the filling head |86 as the platform rises. Inthis position, as shown at C in Figure 9, and also at C in Figure 14, the platform 31 will be beneath a striker |98 of a counter-pressure trip control mechanism |91 arranged beneath the counter-pressure trip |96 so that the platform will not contact with the striker. The striker |98 controls the position of the counter-pressure trip |98 and since thestriker is thus not actuated by the bottle supporting platform, the counter-pressure trip |98 will remain outwardly in the position shown in dotted lines in Figure 14 so that the valve arm |88 of the filling head will be turned backwardly and upward by the trip |98 to the position indicated at |88c in dotted lines in Figure 14; A very slight continued rotation of the filling table will cause the valve arm |88, raised to position |88c, to contact with the filling trip 200, further turning the valve arm |88 to operate the filling valve to lling position.

However, in the event that the bottle supporting platform 31 does not receive a bottle as it passes the infeed spider 36. the spring of that bottle supporting platform can move the platform to the full extent permitted by the resiliency of the spring, which position is indicated in solid lines at D in Figure 14 and also at D in Figure 9. With the platform 31 at position D, its outer edge will contact with the striker |96 of the counter-pressure trip control mechanism |91.

The striker |96 is adjustably secured by bolts 202 to a lever 203 pivoted at 204 to a bracket 205 fixed to the stationary table of the machine. The bracket 205 carries on its under side an electrical switch 206 which is normally in open contact position. The lever 203 includes a horizontally extending portion 201 provided with an upstanding and adjustableset screw 208 which normally bears against a roller 209 carried by the movable contact supporting member 2|0 of the switch 206. When the striker |96 carried at the upper end of the lever 203 is positioned inwardly (or to the right in Figure 14), the position to which it is tended by a spring 2||, the horizontal portion 201 of the lever will be in upward position, holding the roller 209 and the contact supporting member 2|0 upon which it is carried in upward and non-circuit closing position. With the switch 206 in open position, the counter-pressure trip |88 will be in the outward position indicated in dotted lines in Figure 14, the trip being tended to this position by a coil spring 2|2 within the housing 213 in which the counter-pressure trip is mounted. With the trip |98 in outward position, when the lower portion of a valve arm |88 of a fillinghead |86 comes opposite the same, the valve arm will be swims to a position to permit fiow of counter-pressure fluid tothe bottle beneath the same.

However, as stated above, when no bottle is upon the platform element 31 beneath a filling head, the entire bottle supporting platform 31 5 moves to the higher position indicated at D so that when the platform comes opposite the striker |96, the lever 203 will be swung to the position shown in Figure 13, thereby moving the horizontal portion 201 of the lever downwardly. l This movement will permit the roller 209 and the contact supporting member 2|0 which carries the same to move downwardly to close the circuit controlled by the switch 206, thereby energizing an electro-magnet 2|4 to draw inwardly l5 an armature 2|5 which is connected to the inner end of the counter-pressure trip |98.

With the counter-pressure trip |98 thus retracted, the valve arm |88 of the -lling head will move past the counter-pressure trip |98 20 without being moved to counter-pressure flow position and, as a result, the valve arm |88 will move beneath and-past the filling trip 200 as indicated at E in Figures 9 and 14 and thus will not strike or be operated by the filling trip, and no liquid will flow from .the filling head |86.

Immediately the empty bottle supporting platform has passed the striker |96, the lever 203 will be moved to outward position by the action of the spring 2|| so that the circuit to electro- 30 magnet 2|4 will be broken and the counterpressure trip |98 moved to operative and outward position in readiness for actuating the succeeding bottle platform, if-that platform carries a bOttle. I

As best shown in Figure 18, the circuit including the electro-magnet 2|4v includes a manual switch 2|1. This switch is preferably mounted at the front of the machine and by operation of the same, the release control circuit can be rendered ineffective entirely separately from the circuits controlled by the hereinafter described switches actuated when jamming of bottles occurs. The provision of a separate manual switch for the counter-pressure trip release control mechanism enables the filling table to be rotated for adjustments preliminary to the running of the machine for filling operations and in which preliminary operations, bottles may not necessarily be present upon the platforms but actu- 5 ation of the filling valves to test the latter is nevertheless desirable.

The bracket 205 which carries the striker |96 and switch 206 is secured to an arm 2|8 projecting from the stationary table 30. The counterpressure trip |98 and its housing 2|3 are mounted on an arm 2|9 projecting from the post |90, which post is supported in the above mentioned arm 2|9. The filling trip 200 is also supported on the arm 2|9. The housing 2|3 carrying the counter-pressure trip |98 is carried on a boss 220, the housing including a projecting sleeve 22S which surrounds boss 220 and suitable means of the type disclosed in said Huntley and Stewart 'patent is provided between these two elements `to 65 the stationary table 30 of the machine.

enable the arm to be'locked in any desired position upon the post. 4Keys and keywaysindicated at 225 prevent the arm from rotating with respect to the post. i

As best shown in Figure, the filling reservoir carrying the lling heads |86 is vertically adjustable by rotation upon the :post 226 of the filling table, this post being threaded as indicated at 221 to permit of adjustment of these two elements so as to enable the filling heads to be raised or lowered to accommodate bottles of various sizes.

The post |9| which supports the snifting trips 230 is supportedin an arm 23| projecting from Post |9| is provided with an arm 232 adjacent its upper end which is provided with a pair of spaced bosses 233, each of which rotatably supports a shifting trip 230. The connection between the bosses and trips is similar to that described above in connection with the counter-pressure and filling trips in that the trips. will be tended to a position in the path of the valve arlms |88 but will be free to vswing from the path of the arms in the event that a seized arm strikes the trip. Two trips are provided, either of which may be selectively used according to whether or not lit is desired to lengthen or shorten the filling period. The snifting trips 230 are each in the form of a roller 234 mounted by anti-frictional means upon an arm 235, the rollers 234 being designed to turn upon the arms 235 when a valve arm |88 comes in contact therewith. By this arrangement, unnecessary friction between the valve arms and the snifting trip is avoided.

The trip supporting arm 232 is connected to the post |9| in the manner described above as being used to connect the arm 2 I9 on post |90, thereby permitting of vertical adjustment of the snifting trips.

The means for positioning bottles beneath the croumer The filled bottles are removed from the bottle supporting platforms 31 of the filling table by the cooperation of theoutfeed spider 3B and the guide plate 39, the rotation of the spider 38 causing the bottles to slide upon the upper surface 51 of the stationary table 30 to the point indicated at F in Figures 1 and 16. From this position to the moment when the bottle is moved from beneath the crowning mechanism 33, its movement is controlled by the crowner positioning means 40 disclosed in our said original application Serial No. 116,426. l

The crowner positioning means 40 comprises a double armed pusher member 240 removably secured to an upstanding element 24| formed on a slide member 242 having its outer end 283 piv- 0 otally mounted at 244 on a collar 245 slidably mounted on a slide bar 246 supported upon fixed uprights 281. The inner end 248 of the slide member 242 is rotatably connected to a crank 289 secured to the rotatable shaft 89. By this arrangement, the bottle contacting arms 250 and 25| at the inner end of the pusher member 240 will follow orbital paths.

As the pusher member 240 moves from the solid line position shown in Figure 16 to the dotted line position of the salme figure, the inner and bottle contacting point 252 of arm 250 will move along the curved dotted line 252e to the position shown in dotted lines at 250e. Because of this movement, the bottle at postion F will be moved to position G, the movement of the bottle being guided by spaced guide bars 253 and. 254'- provided on. the stationary table and extending between the spider 38 and the outfeed conveyor 4|, or to the edge of the table. At the same time, the bottle contacting point 255 of arm- 25| -will be moved along the curved line 255a from the solid line position shown in Figure 16 to.

the dotted line position shown at 25|a, and dlning such movement, the bottle at position G will be moved to position H, from which it may.'

position F by the rotation of the outfeedg.

The operation of the pusher member 240 is so tini'ed with respect to the spider 38 that the anni 258 will contact with the bottle moved to position F by the spider 38 at the proper moment to remove the bottle from the spider at a linear speed which isrsubstantially kthe same as the linear speed at which the bottle has moved from.-

the fillingl table, so that thebottle will movesmoothly and without any sudden acceleration or deceleration. As Athe arm 258 is retracted from point 2500, just before it positions the bottle at position G. it will cause the bottle to be gradually brought to a stop at that position-so that no jarring of the contents of the bottle will result.

In order to permit the positioning means to handle bottles of different sizes, the pusher .mem-- ber 240 may be disconnected from the element 24| and replaced by a pusher member having arms of suitable thickness to handle the size bottles being operated upon. For example, the pusher member 240 illustrated is of a size suited for relatively large bottles and if smaller bottles were operated upon, the pusher member then used would have its arms 258 and 25| of increased thickness at their bottle contacting sides so that the bottle placed at position F, for instance, would be pushed to a point concentric with position G so that its vertical axis will be in alignment with the vertical axis of the crowning head.

A bottle is occasionally broken beneath a crowning head due to defects in the glass oi the bottle and a resultant inability to withstand crowning pressure. When a bottle is thus broken, large fragments may fall to the surface of-the table 51 and be so arranged with respect to the guide members 253 and 254 that when the succeeding bottle is moved from position F in Figure 16 to position G, this bottle, upon contacting with such fragments, may fall over, resulting in further Jamming of succeeding bottles.

Means is provided associated with the crowner positioning mechanism 40 to stop the operation of the entire machine whenever the movement of a' bottle by this mechanism is resisted to any extent as would be the case if fragments impeded the movement of a bottle, this means comprising a cut-out'switch 260 best shown in Figure 17. The switch 260 is normally in circuit closing position, but is moved to open circuit position by a spring clutch mechanism 90 associated with the shaft 89 and illustrated in Figures 4 and 17. The

spring clutch 98 comprises a collar 262 keyed to 76 the shaft 89, the collar being axially slidable on the shaft along the key. The collar is provided on its lower edge with a cut-out or depression 283, the forward edge of the cut-out being inclined as indicated in Figure 17. The cut-out 263 is normally held over and about a tooth 264 on an axial flange secured to or formed with the `driving gear 88 of the positioning mechanism 40, the forward edge of the tooth 264 also being beveled to contact with the inclined surface of the cut-out'.

' form of a roller.

In the normal operation of the machine, the collar 282 will be in the downward position shown in Figure. 17 and the drive to the crowner positioning means 40 will be from the gear 81 to gear 88 and'through the tooth 264 and cut-out .Y y

283 to the collar 262 keyed to the shaft 88, the contacting inclined portions of the tooth 264 and cut-out 263 being at such an angle with respect to each other"A that the positioning means will be properly driven. However, should the movement of the pusher member in moving a bottle from position Fv (Figure 16) to position G be resisted to even a very slight extent, as would occur in the event that a bottle came in contact with a fragment of a broken bottle. the drag thus imposed upon the pusher member 240 would retard its movement with respect to the constantly rotating pinion 88. As a result, the collar 262 will be forced upwardly on the shaft 88 as the inclined forward face of tooth 264 rides from beneath the inclined face of the cut-out 263 of collar 262. Collar 262 will thus move upwardly along the shaft 89 and against the action of the spring 265, bringing its flange 266 in contact with the circuit controlling element 288 of switch 268, so that switch 260 will be opened. As is hereinafter described, the switch 268 is so arranged with respect to the wiring circuit of the machine that the movement of the same to open circuit position will cause the machine to be stopped, so that the attendant may remove the broken fragments of bottle from beneath the crowner 33. The upward movement of collar 262 required to open the switch 260 is so slight that the machine, suitably braked against over-travel, will stop before cut-out 263 entirely rides off the tooth 264 and when the obstacle holding pusher arm 248 is cleared, the spring 265 will tend the collar 262 to proper position with respect to the tooth 264. Because of this, the elements will always be properly timed with respect to each other.

The crowning mechanism .extending through the standard 211 which forms partl of the supporting structure of ,the crownina mechanism. The upper portion 218 of the supporting structure of the crowning mechanism is vertically adjustable with respect to the lower portion or standard 211, being connected to the standard by means of a threaded connection comprising `threads 219 on the standard 211 which are engaged by a split collar 288 having its bore threaded and which 'collar is provided with an upwardly extending and in-turned flange 28| which engages above a projecting flange 282 on the lower end of the upper element 218 of the crowner supporting structure.

The standard 211 extends upwardly into a chamber 283 inthe upper member 218, the two being keyed together by a key block 284 carried by the upper member 218 and projecting into a longitudinal key-way 285 in the standard 211. The key block 284 may be held firmly in the keyway 285 by a threaded holding bolt 286. The solid shaft 215 is suitably channeled in the upper portion of upper supporting member 218. By the above arrangement, the upper supporting member 218 of the crowner, carrying the crowning head 288, may be raised or lowered with respect to the supporting standard 211 merely by loosening the split collar 288 and rotating it upon the threads 219 so that the upper member will be moved either upwardly or downwardly, rotation of the upper supporting member 218 being prevented by the key 284 during this operation. The key 284 will be slightly loosened during adjustment of the crowning mechanism, and when it is again tightened after adjustment, it will hold the two elements of the supporting structure rmly together so that there will be no vibration. The

shaft 215 being journaled in the upper portion 218 l of the crowner supporting structure will move upwardly or downwardly with that portion, a driving connection being maintained between the hollow shaft 60 and the shaft 215 through the key connection 218.

The crowning head 288 is reciprocable in the casting 218, being reciprocated by rotation of an annular cam 289 on the upper portion of the shaft 215.

Caps for use in the crowning operation are supplied to the crowning head 288 from the crown hopper 298 through a chute 29| of well known type. As best shown in Figure 6, the chute 29| is kept iilled with caps and when the crowning head 288 is in lowered position, the end of the chute 29| will be closed by the side wall 292 of the crowning head. When the crowning head rises upon the completion of a crowning operation and after using the cap shown beneath the crowning plunger 294, the crowning chamber 293, which opens to the side wal1292 of the head, will be opposite the lower end of the chute 29| so that the lowermost cap in the chute may slide into the space 295 in the crowning chamber, moving the cap already there over beneath the crowning plunger. It will thus be observed that the crowning chamber will preferably hold two caps, one directly beneath the crowning plunger 294 and the other resting in the space 295 between the center of the crowning chamber and the outside wall 292.

In order to prevent the cap in the space 295 from being jarred from the crowning head during the crowning operation, and as disclosed in our said original application, the present head is provided with a closure plate 296 pivoted to the i, side wall 292 of the crowning head on a pin 296a.

296a and against the action of the light spring 298. Another cap may thus slide into the space 295 and the caps in the chamber will be prevented from falling therefrom by the immediate ris'e of the plate 296.

It will be understood that if one of the caps should fall from the chamber, the cap which should be beneath the crowning plunger 294 may slide along the chamber so that it will not be centered beneath the plunger, with the result that when the crowning head descends upon a' bottle, the cap will not be properly positioned upon the bottle. The provision of means to maintain the caps in the crowning head so that one cap will be-directly in the alignment with the plunger is therefore of considerable importance.

Figure 18 shows the electric circuits for controlling the operation of the machine. As illustrated in these figures, power is supplied to the motor 58 through lines 38|, 382 and 383, the flow of current to the motor through these lines being controlled by a three contact electric switch 384 controlled by an electro-magnet 385.

The electro-magnet 385 is controlled by a normally open start switch 386 and a stop switch 381 through the following leads: One side of the electro-magnet is connected to line 38| through a lead 388, the other side being connected to a contact for switch 386 through a lead 389, the other contact of switch 386 being connected to line 382 by a lead 3|8 including normally closed stop switch 381. Thus, when start switch 386 is closed, current will now through electromagnet 385 to close the main switch 384, and such closing of switch 384 will close the following circuit to hold the main power circuit closed: From 38| to lead 388 through the electro-magnet 385, through lead 389 to lead 3| l, through the auxiliary blade 3|2 of main switch 384, to lead 3|3, through the normally closed trip switch 268 (Figure 17) controlled by the crowner positioning means 48, through lead 3|4 to a trip switch 3|5 controlled by the gate member |82 ,(Figure 1) positioned adjacent the infeed spider 36, and thence through a lead 3| 6 to lead 3 8 and through stop switch 381 toline 382.

It will be observed from the above that so long as stop switch 381 and trip switches 268 and 3|5 are closed, the electro-magnet; 385 will hold the main switch 384 closed and the motor 58 will be operated. However, ii a jam of bottles should occur at gate |82, or a bottle break beneath the crowner 33 to hinder operation of the crowner positioning means 48, trip switch 3|5 or 268, respectively, would be opened to de-energize the electro-magnet 385 and thereby stop the motor 58. Or if the manual stop switch 381 should be operated, namely, moved to open position, the machine would be stopped in the same manner.

The electro-magnet 2|4 which actuates the counter-pressure trip (Figure 14) is connected to line 38| through a lead 3|1 in which is included the manual switch 2 |1 for rendering electromagnet 2|4 ineffective during preliminary operation of the machine as hereinbefore described. The other side of the electro-magnet 2|4 is connected to line 383 by a lead 3|8 in which is included the normally open switch 2|8 actuated by the bottle platforms l1. A circuit-breaker Ill is also included in this lead to protect the electromagnet 2 Il.

It will be understood that the invention is not limited to the details of construction shown vin the drawings and that the examples of the use of the machine and mechanisms which have been given do not include all of the uses of which they are capable: and that the phraseology employed in the specication is for the purposes of description and not of limitation.

We claim:

1. The combination in a ilillng machine, of means to define a path of travel for containers, means to stop movement of containers with their axes at a predetermined point in said path o1' travel. said last-named means being movable obliquely to the path of travel of the container to vary the width of said path of travel and arranged to maintain the axes of the containers of dinerent sizes always in alignment with said predetermined point, and means having operative driving connection with said last named means throughout the adjustable movement of the latter.

2. The combination in a iilling machine, of means to position containers comprising a star wheel, a pusher member engaging said star wheel to rotate the latter step by step, and means to hold said star wheel stationary between advancing movements of said pusher member.

3. In a filling machine, a reciprocable head, a star wheel to position the containers beneath said head, means actuated by movement of said head to rotate said star wheel step by step, and means to hold said star wheel stationary between its movements.

4. The combination in a filling machine, of a star wheel to position bottles, means to intermittently rotate said star wheel, and means to hold said star wheel alternately stationary comprising a plate mounted for reciprocation, cam means to move said plate, and a latch member carried by said plate and arranged to engage the star wheel to prevent movement thereof.

5. The combination in a iilling machine, of a lling head reciprocable to engage containers, a

continuously moving conveyor, a rotatable star wheel to position containers moving on said' conveyor beneath said iilling head for engagement by the latter, and means actuated by said filling head to intermittently rotate said star wheel.

6. The combination in a lling machine, of a lling head reciprocable to engage containers, a continuously moving conveyor to support containers, means to position the ilrst of a row of containers beneath said filling head and to hold the succeeding containers in the row spaced from said rst container comprising a, pair of rotatable dials, and means actuated by said filling head to intermittently rotate said dials.

7. The combination in a iilling machine, of means-to position containers comprising a star wheel, a pusher member to rotate said star wheel, means to hold said pusher` member in driving contact with said star wheel, means to periodically move said pusher member in the opposite direction, and means to hold said star wheel stationary during the last mentioned movement of said pusher.

8. 'I'he combination in a filling machine, of means to position containers comprising a star wheel, a pusher member to rotate said star wheel, means to hold said pusher member in driving contact with said star wheel, means to hold Said star-wheel stationary at such time, and means to periodically move said pusher member in the opposite direction.

9. The combination in a lling machine, of means to position containers comprising a star wheel, a reciprocably mounted pusher adapted to engage said star wheel, a pivoted lever having one arm thereof operatively connected to said pusher member, means to normally hold said pusher member in engagement with said star wheel, reciprocableimeans engaging said lever to move said pusher member in the opposite direction, and means to hold said star wheel stationary between movements of said pusher member.

10. The combination in a filling machine, of reciprocable means to engage and perform an operation upon a container, a continuously moving container supporting conveyor, and means actuated by said reciprocable means to cooperate with said conveyor to move a container to said reciprocable means, hold the container stationary on said conveyor, and then release the container for movement with said conveyor.

11. In combination, means t`o perform an operation upon a container, intermittently movable means and continuously moving means to simultaneously engage a container to move it into position beneath said operation performing means, and means to then hold said intermittently movable means against movement to hold the container stationary beneath said operation performing means while said continuously moving means moves relatively to the container.

12. In combination, means to perform an operation upon a container, intermittently driven rotatable means and a continuously movable conveyor to simultaneously engage a container to move it into position beneath said operation performing means, and means to then hold said rotatable means against movement to hold the container stationary beneath said operation performing means while said continuously moving conveyor moves relatively to the container.

13. In combination, means to perform an operation upon a container, a continuously moving container supporting conveyor, intermittently moving container engaging means', said conveyor and intermittently moving means simultaneously engaging a container to move it to said operation performing means, and means to then hold said intermittently moving means against movement to hold the container stationarybeneath said operation performing means.

14. The combination in a filling machine, of a support, a horizontally arranged container conveyor continuously movable across said support, a filling head vertically reciprocable with respect to said support and conveyor, a pair of rotatable dials spacedy upon said support alongside said conveyor, one of said dials being positioned to contact with a container supported on said conveyor in alignment with said filling head and the other dial being positioned to contact with a container supported on said conveyor in spaced relation to the first-mentioned container, a horizontally reciprocable dial rotating element, means moving with said iilling head to move said element in one direction, means to move said element in the opposite direction, and cam actuated means to hold said dials stationary during movement of said element in one direction.

ROBERT J. STEWART. HARRY J. BEVER. 

